So I fired off an email to my boy over at Gary Fisher and he assures me they are still on track for 2006. They dropped the ball in getting them on the site but they’ll be cycled out when the new Supercaliber 29er full suspension comes out.

I get several e-mails asking me about 29-inchers. What are the advantages and disadvantages? Could the 29 incher be right for me? I think that there are several advantages to the bigger wheeled format. It’s just that you have to have the key to unlocking those advantages!

To experience the 29-incher properly, you have to know how to ride it. There needs to be a paradigm shift. If you don’t know the secret, you will not like the way it rides. Well, not right away, at least! I found out that I needed to go beyond what I knew and was comfortable with when I rode the 26 inch wheels. It all has to do with the nature of those bigger wheels!

This is most noticeable when riding tighter singletrack. Generally, the feeling is that the 26 incher is better here because of it’s greater manouverability, and ease of getting up to speed. Those attributes are true to 26 inch wheels; however, the 29-incher has something that can trump that! Because of the different contact patch the tire has with the ground, the 29-incher can grip the ground better. If a rider attacks a corner on a 29-incher a little hotter than he would on a 26-incher, he will find that he can carry more speed through the corner. He could use less brake, too. When coming out of the corner, the 29-incher doesn’t have to recover as much speed because he didn’t loose as much! It’s an issue of trust at first, because it’s hard to believe you won’t wash out that front tire, as you might on a 26-incher. Many new 29-inch riders find out that they can lose their riding buddies in the twisties because of this advantage.

The bigger wheels also have a greater gyroscopic effect which gives more stability. More stable in slow manouverings, and in the downhill runs. Added to the ability of the bigger wheels to roll over stuff better, and you have an unbeatble XC/ trail bike. Use the attributes of the bigger wheels to your advantage by adjusting your riding style, and I’m sure you’ll come away with a big smile on your face.

We get an industry paper at the shop called Bicycle Retailer and Industry News … In the latest issue, there is a glowing article on 29ers entitled, It’s Big Business:29-Inchers Are More Than Big Wheels. Remember, this article is aimed at industry people from CEO’s at all the big bicycle brands on down to the local shop rats at your bike shop. The article attempts to reveal that what is thought to be an oddball movement, not worthy of pursuing, businesswise, is actually making big bucks for some. It shows how some companies are investing heavily into parts, accessories, and research and developement of 29 inch related gear and bicycles. Apparently, some companies are willing to bet big dollars that this little movement is about to go bigtime.

The new frame called the S.I.R. 9 will be made from Reynolds 853 tubing and can be run as a geared bike or singlespeed. [Below] are pictures of our second generation prototypes with the new steel fork.

The S.I.R. 9 and fork will be ready for sale later this year. We have not gone to production yet so pricing has not been set. The fork will work with our One 9 frame and will be painted to match. We will be taking pre-orders on the frame and forks soon.

As a reminder, we have all colors and sizes now available of the One 9. We were sold out of many colors and sizes but had another production run finish last week and we have them ready to ship.

It’s easy to tell that the bicycle trade show season has started. News of new products are filling the internet! Here are some products that are 29 inch related.

Salsa Cycles has always produced the mighty fine Delgado rim which has become a 29″ classic. Now they have announced plans for a totally new, designed for 29″ use, disc specific rim. It is slated to be 29 millimeters wide, (but of course!) and is reportedly going to be right at 500 grams! This is fantastic news as the current crop of 29 inch tires will benefit from the wider footprint these rims will produce. Look for the rim to hit the shops around spring of ’06.

White Brothers Suspension has been secretly field testing it’s new damper for ’06 for over a year now. After being thoroughly thrashed by endurance star, Mike Curiak all over North America, it has been declared tough enough! The new damper unit is a true oil bath setup with air spring. The “platform” internals are controlled by an ingenious magnetic valve that only activates when trail irregularities activate it. Pressure from the rider is resisted by the valve, which helps eliminate bobbing, or any unwanted suspension movement. This will bring any 29 inch wheeled devotee up to par, suspension-wise, with all the modern 26 inch forked rides available today. The internals will also be retro-fitable to previous White forks by the factory. Forks should be available soon.

Finally, a bit of irony! Specialized, which has publically denied it would ever produce a 29″ wheeled bike, has a 29 inch tire coming out! Yeah, go figure! The company was purportedly going to produce a prototype bike or two for a former World Mountain bike Champ before the last Olympics. They, of course, produced a small run of their own tires for the effort. When said champ was caught cheating, and released from his duties, Specialized was caught out with this small batch of tires and no use for them. So, an ingenious fellow at Morgan Hill decided that he would “raffle” them off to the first 20 folks to get him a post card! He posted the contest on the 29″ bike forum at MTBR.com, and the rest, as they say, is history! The response was so overwhelming, that now you will be able to order Specialized Fast Track tires in a 29 inch size from your local Specialized dealer in ’06. However, you won’t be able to get a bike to mount them to from Specialized! How wierd is that?